Load lifting and weighing device



March 28, 1939. P. s. ENDACOTT LOAD LIFTING 'AND WEIGHINGDEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR PAU L S. ENDACOTT BY 1- MA, A TTORNEYS.

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Original Filed July 16, 1934 March 28, 1939. P. s. ENDACOTT LOAD LIFTING AND WEIGHING DEVICE Original Filed July 16, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR PAU L S. ENDACOTT BY WM A TTORN E Y5.

March 28, 1939. I P s. ENDACOTT LOAD LIFTING'AND WEIGHING DEVICE Original Filed July 16, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 as s F I28 1 FULL4a 1 25.10 %/f g C v MUG IN VEN TOR. PAUL 5. EN DACOTT BY H WmMaA, mm

ATTORNEYS.

March 28, 1939. s, ENDACOTT 2,152,247

LOAD LIFTING AND WEIGHING DEVICE Original Filed July 16, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 v INVENTOR. PAUL S. ENDACOTT BY k n-mfl wouw ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,152,247 LOAD LIF'I'ING AND WEIGHING DEVICE Paul s. Endacott, Bartlesville, on, assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Original application July 16, 1934, Serial No. 735,541. Divided and this application July 27,

1936, Serial No. 92,895

3 Claims.

This invention relates to equipment for the storage and utilization of liquefied petroleum gas, and more particularly to equipment well adapted for use by the consumer of propane and similar .5; petroleum products used for heating, lighting and cooking purposes in and-about the home, store, factory, etc.

The present invention embodies improvements in and additions to the equipment shown in Patents Nos. 1,976,719; 2,009,768; 2,019,004; 1,977,268; 1,994,337; and 1,994,338, and is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 735,541, filed July 16, 1934, which has matured into Patent No. 2,047,953.

1., One of the main objects of the present invention is to provide equipment for use by the consumer of liquefied petroleum gas whereby the operations incident to utilization of the product are simplifled. and numerous safeguards against accidents 20 and injury to body and equipment are embodied in the equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide storage and utilization equipment for liquefied.

petroleum gas where a single cabinet for each installation compactly houses a tank containing one ormor supplies of liquefied gas as well as mechanism for raising the tank on the floor or base of the cabinet; a scale for weighing the tank contents; and, other devices and accessories incino dent to or desirable as a part of such equipment. The invention provides a compact arrangementin the cabinet of the tank and foot operated mechariism for quickly raising and lowering the scale and tank simultaneously so that a person may perform these operations while facing the equipment, without expending any great amount of energy, and so that even a comparatively frail person may attend to such transactions as are ordinarily necessary in self-service equipment. 40 Other objects of the invention are to provide the combination of a tank, a scale and load lifting and lowering mechanism which is compact, com-' prises but few parts, prevents undesirable movement of parts one with respect to another, and permits weighing of the tank contents without shutting off the supply of gas to the gas consuming appliances associated with the equipment; to provide an improved anti-friction telescopic scale beam arrangement; and, to provide an improved mechanism. which causes the load to move in a ered thereby preventing many destructive forces acting upon bearings of the scale and parts associated with the pressure reducing regulator.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification and in which drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in vertical section and K disclose details,

predetermined path while being raised and low-- partly in elevation, with parts broken away to showing consumers liquefied petroleum gas storage and utilization equipment constructed according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the 5 upper portion of the cabinet and some of the parts carried thereby.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on substantially the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the 0 upper portion of the cabinet, provided with an opening for a scale beam.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal-sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view in elevation of a scale forming a part of the equipment.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the scale, a portion of the beam being shown in section to disclose detailsi Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail sectional view on the line 99 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on the line l0l0 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 11 is a detailed view in elevation of means for raising and lowering the tank and associated parts.

- Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a pressure reducing regulator, a portion thereof being broken away and shown in section to disclose the association of the regulator with the scale.

In the drawings, where like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout theviews, A is a rigid support, such as the wall of a building; B is a cabinet which may be secured to support A; C a tank for high pressure liquefied petroleum gas, such as propane; E a consumers-conduit line for low pressure gas which may lead to any suitable gas conserving appliances, not shown in the drawings; F means for conducting fuel from tank C to line E 'at a reduced low pressure, as compared with the vapor pressure in the tank; H a scale and J means for raising and lowering the tank -C means F and scale H.

Referring first to the cabinet B, it comprises a body 23 including a bottom wall 24, side walls 25 and 26, a rear wall 21 and a top wall or cap 28; a door 29 for itjgr lg the open front of the body 23; a vertical scr wall or plate 30; and a horizontal screen. 1 or plate 3|. The cabinet is elongated in shape and placed in an upright position. It is preferably of substantially truncated pyramidal shape, and may rest upon a base 32 of concrete or other suitable material. It is also preferred to strengthen the -rear'wall by "it rolled metal section 33 such as a channel which serves to space the cabinet from the surface of support A, such as the outside wall of a building, to which the cabinet is secured as by lag screws 34, the heads 35 of which are on the inside of the cabinet and the shanks 36 of which pass through openings in the rear wall 21 and web 31 of section 33. The web 31 may be welded or otherwise secured to rear wall 21 and the flanges 38 of section 33 project outwardly from the rear wall for engagement with the support A, as shown in Figure 3.

The bottom wall 24 may be provided with downturned flanges 39, welded or otherwise secured to the walls 25, 26 and 21. The side wall 28 is provided with a scale beam opening 40 near its upper margin, which may be closed by a shutter 4I slidable in horizontal guides 42, the shutter being provided with a handle 43. Each side wall may also be provided with an opening 44 through either of which the consumers conduit line E may pass. The openings 44- are located near the rear margins of the walls. While the top wall or cap 28 may be integral with the side and rear walls, it is preferred to make it a separate piece which may be secured to these walls by suitable fasteners 45, such as nuts and bolts. Thus the top wall or cap may be a casting or formed of sheet metal rendered sufliciently strong and sturdy so as to permit suspending the tank C, scale H and means F fromthe top wall or cap as shown in Figures 1' and 3. Door 29 may be hinged as at 46 to wall 25, and may be provided with top and bottom vent openings 41 and 40 with which are associated louvers 49. Adjacent side wall 25, the screen wall or plate 30 is provided with a sight opening 50 through which portions of the scale H may be viewed, as shown in Fig. 2. These screen walls or plates 30 and 3| may be secured to the cabinet body in any suitable manher. In the example shown wall 30 is provided with a horizontal flange 55 at its upper portion, secured to top wall or cap 23 as by fasteners 55 and at its lower margin may be provided with an inturned flange 51 to engage beneath wall 3|. The latter is provided with a downturned rear flange 58 and downturned side flanges 53 which may be secured to the rear wall 21, and side walls 25 and 26, by fasteners 50. The fasteners 55 and. 60 may be nuts and bolts which permit removal of these screen walls or plates if repairs, replacement of parts or adjustments are necessary. It will be noted that the walls 30 and 3I brace the upper portion of the cabinet by extending from side wall to side wall and being secured to the rear and top walls. They also form with the side walls, rear wall and top wall, a compartment 5| in the upper portion of the cabinet which is open laterally of the cabinet body at the scale beam opening 40. The guides 42 have longitudinal flanges 52, welded or otherwise secured to wall 25 adjacent the upper and lower margins of opening 40. Each guide may be provided with an inturned portion 53 at its end to limit sliding movement of the shutter 4| when the latter is in either open or closed relation to the opening 40.

The tank C is very much like that disclosed in my aforesaid Patent No. 2,019,004 in that it is elongated in shape and when in use for supply of gas to the consumer's conduit line E, is normally upright. It comprises a cylindrical body portion 64, a bottom wall 55, a top wall 55, and a partition 61 near the top wall providing a major compartment or chamber 53 and a minor compartment or chamber 58 for liquefied petroleum gas. A foot ring 13 may be provided on the lower or bottom wall 55.

The consumer's conduit line I: includes a pipe 06' which may be rigidly secured in the compartment SI of the cabinet, to the rear wall 21, by brackets 81', which space is a suitable distance from the wall 21 so as to permit placing and removal of a cap which may be placed on either end of the pipe 85, and a union 89 which joins a pipe 90 to the uncapped end of pipe 86'. Pipe 90 leads through the opening 44 in side wall 26 and to the gas consuming appliances not shown in the drawings. An outlet pressure relief valve 9| may be provided in compartment 6i, connected to pipe 86 by a goose neck 92.

Fluid from the tank C finds its way to the line E through suitable valves, not shown, and means F which will now be described. It includes a pressure reducing regulator 93 which, through a pipe 94 coupled to the high pressure inlet of the regulator by union 95, and to the tank C by a coupling 96, forms a suitable suspension device between the scale H and tank C. The coupling includes a wrench head 91 which receives the wrench 75. The low pressure outlet of regulator 93 has communication with pipe 06', through flexible conduit 98, it being connected to the regulator by union 99, and to a nipple I00 of pipe. 06 by a union IN. The pipe 94 extends through the screen plate Si in the manner described in the parent application. The regulator 93 has preferably cast integral with its front cover plate I02, a clevis-like portion I03, inc1uding lugs I04 and I05, spaced apart to provide a mouth I05 which opens upwardly to receive a portion of scale H as hereinafter described. Lug I04 is provided with a recess I0'I open to mouth I06 and lug I05 has a bore I08 axially aligned with recess I01. The bore I00 and recess I01 receives a pivot pin I09 extending across mouth I 05, and held against rotation by a transverse pin IIO carried by lug I05.

The scale H is very much like that disclosed in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,009,768, in that it in cludes a scale beam I23 including a stem section I24 and a sleeve-like section I25 embracing section I24 providing a slideway I26 for receiving the stem section, so that the latter may be moved to extend entirely through the sleeve-like section I25 or have merely its inner end portion in the slideway as shown in Figure 6. The stem section is provided with graduations and other indicia I21 thereon, which may be viewed through a slot or sight opening I23 of section I25. It is also provided with a counterweight or poise I20 at its end remote from section I25. An indicator I30 is adjustably carried by section I25 as by set screw I having screw threaded engagement in bore I32 in section I 25, the shank I33 of the screw extending through an elongated slot I 34 in the back plate I35 of the indicator. Sleeve section I25 also has a depending web I36 extending longitudinally of the lower portion thereof provided with suspension pivot I31 and an opening I20 receiving the aforesaid pin Ill. The improved scalebeam I23 is provided with antiiriction bearings I30 and I43 at the mouth I of slideway I25 and an antifriction bearing I42 remote from its mouth for engagement with the edges of stem section I24. The bearings I33 and I40 may be projections cast or formed as a part of the section I24, provided with arcuate faces I43 and I44, respectively, having line contact with the top and bottom edges I45 and I45, respectively, of the stem section. The bearing I42 may be a cylindrical pin rigid with the upper portion of section I25 and extending across the slideway I25 ior line contact with theupperedgelfl ofstem section I24. Inordcr to limit outward sliding movement of the stem section, it is' provided with. a stop pin I41 at-its end opposite to poise I29 which may engage hearing I42 as is obvious from an inspection of Figure 10. The scale is suspended from a. vertical hanger I48 including a horizontal stop bar I46 above the sleeve-like section I25 and depending arms I50 which embrace said section and have pivotal connection with the pivot I31. In Figure 1 the stem section of the scale is shown extending through the opening 40 in wall 28, so as to expose the poise I29 to view exteriorly of the cabinet where it may act as a signal, by moving downwardly as the liquefied petroleum gas in tank 0 is used and hence the load on the scale becomes lighter in weight. The stop bar I49 limits the amplitude of oscillation of sleeve section I25 on the hanger I48. It is to be noted also that the stem sections may be moved to a position entirely in compartment 6 I, at which time the shutter 4I may be closed.

In order that the scale, tank and connection between the two may be quickly and conveniently raised and lowered, the means J is provided. It differs from the mechanism shown in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,009,768 in that the operator is not required to reach into the upper part of the cabinet but may, while facing the screen plate 30, operate the mechanism with the right foot. It preferably comprises a parallelogram mechanism I5I, a foot lever I62, 2. link I53 between the lever I52 and mechanism I5I to operate the latter movement of the former, and a catch device I54 associated with the lever I52. Themechanism I 5| preferably includes spaced vertical arms I55 secured to the cabinet top 28 as by attaching plate I56 and bolts I51, a lever I58 pivoted intermediate its ends as at I59 to the lower end portion of arms I55, spaced vertical arms I66 01 hanger I 46 pivoted intermediate their ends, as at I6I, to one end portion I62 of lever I58, and a link I53 parallel to lever I 58, pivotally connected as at I64 to the upper endportion of arms I66, and to vertical arms I55 as at I65. The foot lever I52 may be pivoted, as at I66, to a bracket I61, secured to the rear wall 21 of the cabinet.

Remote from pivot I66, the link I53 is pivoted to the lever, as at I68 and it extends vertically thru a perforation in bottom screen plate 3|. with its upper end portion pivoted, as at I69 to the other end portion I10 of lever I58. The catch device I54 may be secured to the bottom wall 24 of the cabinet, as by rivets HI, 2. vertical arm I12 of the catch device having laterally projecting lugs I13 and I14 beneath which the foot lever may come to rest wile? the tank is either raised or lowered. The pivotal connection between foot lever I52 and bracket I61 is sufiiciently loose to permit the foot lever being moved laterally, so as to disengage it from a position beneath lug I14 thereby permitting the tank and associated parts to be lowered, the foot lever I 52 engaging beneath lug I13 to limit the downward movement of the scale and regulator. It is to be observed that the parallelogram mechanism I5I supports the scale in a manner that it is not likely to be injured even tho the extended stem.- section and poise I 29 be subjected to considerable wind force. By making the cabinet of truncated pyramidal shape, there is ample room in the cabinet at the lower portionthereof, for the foot lever 32 and the catch device 65%; laterally or the tank, as is very clear from an inspection of Figure 5.

After connecting the tank to the dispensing equipment on the consumers premises, the scale may be brought into use to verify any claim that a filled tank has been furnished, since the word full on the stem portion of the scale beam may be observed thru the sight openings 50 and I26 and the scale beam will balance when the indicator I38 points to the word full if such is a fact. After such weighing operatiomthe operator may move the stem section of the scale beam so that the indicator points to such indicia on the stem section as desired, such as one representing empty thus adapting the scale for signalling purposes. For instance, if so set, the poise I29 will descend when the major supply of liquefied petroleum gas in the tank 0 is depleted. If it is not desired to use the scale beam as a signal device, it may be adjusted so that the stem section is wholly within the cabinet, and the shutter 4I may be moved to a closed position. There need be no interruption of flow of low pressure gas to the gas consuming appliances during a weighing operation. A changeover from the major to the minor or reserve supply may be readily accomplished by manipulation of valves, shown in the parent application, but not shown in the present application.

Various minor details have been specifically referred to in the foregoing specification, and it is to be understood that these may be varied without departing from the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a load lifting and weighing device, the combination of a rigid support, a vertical arm rigid with said support, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends to the lower portion of said vertical arm to swing in a vertical plane, a vertical hanger pivoted intermediate its ends to one end portion of said lever, a scale at the lower portion of said hanger, a. link parallel to said lever pivotally connected to the upper end portion of said hanger and to said vertical arm, and means connected to the other end portion of said lever for raising and lowering the same and retaining it in a fixed position.

2. In a scale, a beam comprising a stem section,

a sleeve-li-ke section embracing said stem section and provided with a slide-way for receiving the stem. section so that the latter may be moved into and out of the sleeve-like section, said slide-way at its mouth provided with bearings for engaging the top and bottom edges of said stem section, and a third bearing in the slide-way remote from the mouth thereof, engaging the top edge of said stem section.

3. In a scale, a beam comprising a stem section, a sleeve-like section embracing said stem section and provided with a slide-way for receiving the stem section so that the latter may be moved into and out of the sleeve-like section, said slide-way at its mouth provided with bearings engaging the top and bottom edges of said stem section, a third bearing in the slide-way remote from the mouth thereof, engaging the top edge of said stem section, and a stop on said stem section at its upper edge for engagement with said last mentioned bearing to limit the outward movement of said stem section with respect to said sleeve-like 

